Nicosia municipality is paying the full adoption package for 35 dogs at a shelter that holds 130 strays in a space meant for 60, as it tries to find them permanent homes.
The package normally costs 200 euros and covers part of an animal’s veterinary costs. It includes neutering, a microchip, vaccination and blood tests, said Rafaella Kyriakou of Simba Animal Aid Cyprus, the group that runs the shelter.
Lina Feneridou, chair of the municipality’s Green Transition and Animal Welfare Committee, said it also includes a fully updated health record. Puppies will be neutered once they are old enough, and adult dogs will already have been neutered, Kyriakou said.
The shelter belongs to the municipalities of Nicosia, Strovolos and Lakatamia and houses dogs they have collected as strays. Its kennels have room for 60 dogs, a figure Kyriakou said the shelter had held only around the time it opened. It could cope with up to 80, she said. Large covered pens added in an earlier expansion were meant as exercise areas, but some dogs now live in them permanently because of the numbers.
Feneridou told philenews the municipality had set aside funds so that the dogs could have a home and a family rather than stay in a temporary shelter. She said the scheme was also meant to help people who love animals and want to adopt but may be struggling financially.
There are plans to expand the site and improve its facilities, she said, but the main aim is for dogs not to remain in such places. She urged people to adopt rather than buy, adding: “Every dog deserves a second chance.”
How to adopt
Anyone interested can call 99 657631 or contact the shelter’s manager to find out which dogs are available and arrange a visit.
Kyriakou said not everyone who applies will be given a dog. Applicants are screened first and their home is checked, including the fencing and where the dog would live. Small dogs must live indoors, she said. The group would prefer all its dogs to live indoors, but accepts this may not always be possible. “We will certainly not give a dog to live tied up or in a cage,” she said.
Staff also talk to applicants about what they are looking for, their living conditions and how many hours they spend away from home, to match each family with a suitable dog. Kyriakou warned that adopting a dog is a decision for life.
Most adoptions abroad
Most of the shelter’s dogs are adopted by families abroad. The shelter works with two animal welfare organisations in England, through which 15 to 30 adoptions take place each month.
Kyriakou said Cypriots were not yet used to adopting, and urged people to give strays a chance rather than buy a dog.
Costs and volunteers
The municipalities cover each dog’s costs for its first 30 days, after which Simba Animal Aid Cyprus pays, Kyriakou said. Some dogs have been at the shelter for almost two years. Others need permanent treatment, including one with a heart condition that requires constant medication, frequent tests and ultrasound scans, and one with a neurological condition that needs psychiatric medication.
The group also pays to prepare dogs for adoption, including microchips, vaccines and neutering. It works with vets, but the costs are huge because of the number of dogs, and it relies on donations and sponsorship, Kyriakou said.
People can help by donating food or money for vet bills, fostering dogs, or coming to walk them on Saturdays. Walks help the dogs socialise and give them time away from the shelter, she said. The shelter has permanent staff but needs volunteers, and a fair number of people already come to help.
More information is available on Simba Animal Aid Cyprus’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
